Handling Parental Stress

I am not a Mum yet, but I have seen mothers go through a serious level of stress that makes me question my readiness over and over again. Some parents are able to handle the stress well, while others cannot just deal with it. I feel it is important for parents to talk about their struggles, to help other mothers, and maybe encourage people like me who are scared of the possible stress that is to come.

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From time past, people have always complained about the stress of raising a child, but it appears the stress is now more severe in our generation than it has ever been. These days, we are forced to learn how to balance the obligations of family and work, and also learn how to handle social media, mental health issues, and pandemics. In Africa for instance, in those days, the men had to fend for the family while the women would stay back home to take care of the children. Still, things are different now, as all hands need to be on deck for financial provision, it is just rather unfortunate that most men still leave the home care duties to the mother regardless.

The vast spread of social media these days usually makes most parents feel like they are not doing enough, and one thing we do not know is, that social media does not always tell the full story about what is going on. Parents these days as their child/children grow up, also worry about the health and safety of their children, the impact that technology has on their children, and lots more.

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When a parent is stressed, it will have a remarkable effect on the child, a stressed parent will become less patient and may show harsher disciplinary methods compared with the periods when they are not stressed. Being too harsh on children could make them withdrawn. A parent acting anxious and worried could make the child begin to act similarly, which could result in depression for the child. Children learn a lot of things from their parents, if you're not managing stress appropriately, it is almost certain that your child will follow the same pattern.

Due to how work is these days, we are mostly glued to our computers and that is not good for our mental health, planning a meet-up with friends or people who share similar interests with you will make you feel better. Make phone communications a better habit, instead of texting all the time, call that friend or family member, that will help you feel less stressed.
Connecting with other parents in your child's school is also a good way to relax and meet with other parents.

Parents must understand as well that, there is no such thing as perfect parenting, taking out some time for yourself is never a bad idea, do not think you are not doing enough to feel stressed, even the little things we do can get us stressed.
When we easily identify that we are feeling stressed, then we can learn to take a break when necessary.